A Close Call and New Acquaintances
by PandaFire McMango
Summary: High school fic. Collins, Mark, Maureen, Roger, and Benny save a little child from getting hit by a car...and meet Angel and Mimi! bad summary, basically a PreRENT fic with canon pairings. oneshot, rated T for language! oh, and all hail Kushdi!


**Alrighty! My first reall fic of the past: takes place about when they're all in high school, junior year, all that. its not perfect but...enjoy!**

"Lemme at him! LEMME AT HIM!"

"Jesus, Maureen, calm down..."

"No, Mark, I won't calm down, I fricking won't calm down and you can't make me!" Sixteen-year-old Maureen Johnson glared at Mark and then at the school, one hand still clutching the red-ink-covered English paper she had been handed back about fifteen minutes ago. Collins rolled his eyes and took her by the shoulders, directing her away from the school. Maureen twisted away from him, wild brown hair flying out in different directions. Collins sighed and elbowed Roger, who was stifling laughter.

"Maureen, come on, it's just Shugley. You can't take him seriously, he's a new teacher, he doesn't get your...style yet."

"Fuck him and his...his...new-ness! What right does he have to squash my creative genius! How dare that--"

"To be fair, Maureen, he did specify that our papers should be about _real _advisors in our lives. I know Kushdi is real to you, but he's not to Shugley." Benny leaned back against the rough brick wall of the drug store, one eyebrow raised. Maureen stomped her feet angrily and brandished her paper in Benny's face, ignoring the fact that, while stomping, she had accidently crunched her foot down on Mark's toes. His eyes watered and a look of severe agony flashed onto his face, but she took no notice. Roger stuffed his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing as Mark hopped up and down in pain, and Collins looked towards the sky as though praying for some large, heavy object to put him out of his misery.

"Kushdi _is _real, and just because he talks to me from inside my head doesn't mean that he doesn't count as an amazing advisor! I should be getting an A on this paper, not the C- that fucking Ali Grey deserves after that disgusting paper about her granny or whatever..."

"Hey, she had a great paper, better than your novel about the fucking goldfish in your head! And her name is Alison!" Benny exploded, looking angry. Roger removed his fist from his mouth and shook one finger at Maureen, feigning seriousness.

"Don't insult the target of Benny's lust, Mo, it's not good for your health." Maureen took her paper and whacked him on the head.

"Fuck you, Roger!"

"OK, that's it!" Collins, fed up with his friends, did the only possible thing left: grabbed Maureen and hoisted her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift, ignoring her shriek of protest and the following blows on his back. Directing a withering glare at Benny and Roger, he walked down the street, accompanied by the three other guys (all laughing so hard that they were having convulsions) and taking no notice of Maureen's threats and punches.

After traveling a full block, Collins let her down gently, calmy dodging the blow she aimed at him the moment her feet were on solid ground. Catching hold of her wrists, he looked her straight in the eye.

"Are we calm now?"

"Collins, I swear to god I will..." Her threat petered out as she struggled not to laugh. After all, it was pretty funny (as for laughing, Mark, Roger, and Benny were _way_ past gone already). Finally, with a small chuckle, she relaxed and Collins let go. She looked at the crumpled paper for a moment, then shrugged and sighed.

"I guess it's not so bad. It just means that my dad is going to say no to our friday night plans." She made a big show of sniffling and hanging her head, but Collins just waited.

"Aaaand...?"

"I'll sneak out, you dork." Maureen grinned and crumpled the paper into a ball, shoving it into her pocket. Collins smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"_That's_ our Maureen. C'mon, let's ditch these losers and go get something to drink."

"Drink? Drink? What drink?" Roger asked immediately, emerging out of his laughing fit. Collins rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"If you guys can shut up, we're gona go get something at the store. Probably just Cokes or whatever." Roger grinned and whacked Collins on the arm.

"Yeah, right. I'll take some whatever, howsabout?" Mark and Benny, both finally winding down, were definetly in for the whole drinks idea (though Benny had to get home and finish his econ make-up work at some point). Arms around each other and insults coming at full flow, the five friends started down to the store.

* * *

"Roger, you're so full of shit," laughed Mark. Maureen giggled and squeezed Mark's hand, her legs brushing against his as they walked. Collins gestured at them with a kissy-face expression and Benny rolled his eyes. Most of them time it was hard to tell that Mark and Maureen were going out. Other times... 

"It's true, Mo. Cross my heart and stick a needle up my--hey, what's that?" Roger interrupted himself, pointing at a small, moving form up at the corner. It was stumbling forward in a slow waddle, heading into the long and mostly empty road. Benny squinted and said, "Jeez...I think it's a kid or something. Where's it's mom?" Collins frowned.

"What the hell is it...oh shit!" The toddler-sized child had just stepped off the curb ahead, trundling towards the middle of the road. Simulteaunously, an olive-green Chevy was speeding up the road at triple the limit, heading straight for the kid. The driver seemed to be blind or uncaring: either way, he was making no effort to slow or avoid the child, even though there was hardly anyone else on the road.

"Oh my god!" shrieked Maureen as she realized what was about to happen. Mark and Benny started running forward, but they were no match for Collins and Roger, who sprinted towards the corner like Olympic runners. Another scream sounded from around the corner, but they ignored it.

The little child came into sharp focus as they approached: a tiny girl, dressed in a small white t-shirt with a picture of a strawberry on the front, a pair of mini purple courduroys, a thin blue jacket, and ragged, miniscule sneakers. Her soft, curly brown hair was done up in two high pigtails that sprouted from her head like plumage, and her tan, Hispanic face had the immeasurable sweet innocence of childhood. As she moved forward, she giggled happily, taking no notice of the vehicle speeding straight for her...

"Gotcha!" Roger yelled, snatching the girl up by her waist half a second before the Chevy flattened the road where she had just been. Collins ran after the car a few steps, shouting profanities. Then he turned and raced over to Roger, who had fallen back onto the corner sidewalk, clutching the girl to his chest. She seemed in no way upset; on the contrary, she wriggled in delight and shrieked, "¡ésa era diversión!"

"Rog, are you okay?" Collins asked, dropping to his knees. Roger groaned and sat up, the little girl sliding down into his lap. She giggled and squealed, "¡Hágalo otra vez, hágalo otra vez, hombre divertido!

"Yeah...I'm okay. Fucking back hurts like hell though," he muttered. By then Benny, Mark, and Maureen had reached them. Maureen gasped as she saw how tiny the girl was, and Mark stared open-mouthed at the receding car. Benny immediately shut his eyes and started reciting the liscense plate number under his breath so he wouldn't forget it.

"Oh my god, what--"

"Theresa!" A voice sounded from down the street, and the five turned to see two people running towards them: a Latina about a year younger than them and a Hispanic boy who looked a little older. Both of them looked terrified.

The boy reached the corner first, leaning down and scooping the little girl up into his arms. He cradled her gently, pressing kisses onto her face and talking very fast in Spanish. The girl leaned down and rested her hads on her knees, panting.

"¡Theresa, agradece a dios que usted es todo a la derecha¡Miel del Oh, era así que asustado usted iba a conseguir daño, nunca se preocupa me como eso otra vez¡Soy así que alegre usted es aceptable, girlie, usted me asustó tan malo!" The boy hugged the tiny girl closer, holding her as tightly as though he was afriad she might disapear in a flash of light. The little girl looked confused, squirming and whimpering. The Latina pressed close to check the girl over, but drew back immediately, turning to yell down the block at a large group of brown-skinned children gathered on the street.

"¡No viene aquí, la estancia en la casa¿Usted permanece detrás allí, usted me oye¡Estancia!" Collins and Roger got to their feet and stared at the newcomers, while Mark gripped Maureen's hand and Benny's eyes snapped open from his concentration session. They watched, feeling awkward, as the boy checked the little girl over, finally moving her to his hip when he was confident she was in no way injured. The tiny child wrapped one arm around the boy's neck and stuffed her other thumb in her mouth, laying her head on his shoulder. The Latina finished yelling at the other kids and turned around again, her wide brown eyes silently appraising the five friends.

"Um...is she okay?" Collins asked hesitantly. The boy looked at him, smiling gratefully.

"She is, thanks to you two. I don't know she managed to wander off like that, but we just realized that she was gone when we saw both of you save her from that car. Bastard..." he said, glancing over his shoulder at the now empty road. The Latina smiled at the rest of them and nodded.

"It's a miracle that you managed to get to her fast enough. Did you see her from down that way?" The girl gestured at the other street on the corner. Mark opened his mouth to respond, but Roger jumped in eagerly, his eyes riveted on the Latina.

"Yeah, we were just walking up the street when we saw her going into the road. We ran as fast as we could, and I grabbed her just in time, huh?" Behind him, Mark and Maureen rolled their eyes, and Collins did the same. Typical Roger: he would say anything to impress a girl.

"I managed to catch the guy's liscense plate if you want it," offered Benny, stepping forward. He too found it very hard to look away from the Latina. "I mean, if you want to reach him about it. He didn't even slow down, you know, I saw it up close. I doubt he moved an inch to either side to avoid her." The Latina frowned and reached over to run a gentle hand over Theresa's cheek. The little girl sucked her thumb, oblivious to the danger she had just been saved from. The boy kissed the top of her head and smiled at them again.

"Thank you, but we don't need it. I know that car, it belongs to a--" he started to say something, but stopped because of Theresa. "A jerk over in the 'high-class' part of town. I do a couple odd jobs for him now and then, but I never thought...oh, never mind. The important thing is that she's safe, and without you she wouldn't be. Thank you so much, we owe big time. Theresa, opinión le agradece a los muchachos agradables."

"Gracias," mumbled Theresa around her thumb. Collins smiled and said, "You don't have to thank us. No one would have let her get hit by that car, we were just..." he trailed off and blushed because of the smile the boy was giving him. It was definetely more than just a grateful smile. Maureen, who had been watching them all, caught the smile and stared.

"Saving my little sister. You deserve a lot more than just a thank you for that." He smiled again, then looked down at Theresa. "La opinión le agradece a muy, muchacho muy lindo, miel."

"Gracias a muy, muchacho muy lindo, miel," mumbled Theresa again. The Latina giggled suddenly and grinned at the boy. Roger and Benny stared at her with such big eyes that Mark, who was watching them with vague amusement, had to stifle a giggle himself. Roger was just opening his mouth when--

"¡Mimi¡El mama dice que usted tiene que volverse para la cena ahora, o bien ella está alimentando su alimento el perro y ella que no van dejó ángel permanecer para la cena!" The cry came from a single small child who was standing in front of a door. The Latina turned and waved.

"¡Dígale que estamos viniendo!" she called back. The Latina looked back at them with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, but my little brother says we've have to come for dinner."

"Oh...hey, maybe we could, you know, hang out sometime! I mean, not just you and me, all of us, but...um...yeah?" Roger stuttered uncertainly. The boy and the girl looked at each other with amused glances. The Latina smiled at Roger.

"That sounds like it could be fun. I'll see you around...oh shit, I forgot, sorry." She held out one hand formally. "My name is Mimi; what's yours?"

"Benny," said Benny, jumping in front of Roger and shaking Mimi's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Amd I'm Roger," said Roger, elbowing Benny away. Mark and Maureen rolled their eyes again and introduced themselves. Collins, still slightly off balance from the boy's smile, took a moment before saying, "Oh...yeah, I'm Collins. Tom. Either one." The boy laughed and hitched Theresa farther up his hip, careful not to wake her; she had fallen asleep, thumb in mouth and head on his shoulder.

"Hi...I'm Angel." He held out his free hand to Collins, who shook it nervously. Angel smiled at him for a moment longer, then turned to Mimi. "C'mon, chica. Your mama's probably pissed by now."

"Yeah." Mimi waved at them and said, "Bye, hope to see you soon," before running off towards her house. Angel winked at them all.

"Thank you so much; and I hope we do see you around sometime," he said warmly. Then, walking slowly so as not to wake Theresa, he started off after Mimi. The five watched them go, watched them until they entered the small house that the child had called from before.

The moment the door slammed shut, Roger and Benny started going at each other's throats about Mimi, Mark and Maureen whispered to each other while glancing at the others, and Collins...Collins had a sudden desperate urge to know what Angel had said about him that made Mimi giggle.

They had not seen the last of these two people...

**Hah! We all know that, now don't we...?**

**Translations:**

**"¡ésa era diversión!"----**_That was fun!_

**¡Hágalo otra vez, hágalo otra vez, hombre divertido!----**_Do it again, do it again, funny man!_

**"¡Theresa, agradece a dios que usted es todo a la derecha¡Miel del Oh, era así que asustado usted iba a conseguir daño, nunca se preocupa me como eso otra vez¡Soy así que alegre usted es aceptable, girlie, usted me asustó tan malo**_!----"Theresa, thank god you're all right! Oh honey, I was so afraid you were going to get hurt, never worry me like that again! I'm so glad you're okay, girlie, you scared me so bad!_

**¡No viene aquí, la estancia en la casa¿Usted permanece detrás allí, usted me oye¡Estancia!----**_Don't come over here, stay at the house! All of you stay back there, you hear me? Stay!_

**Theresa, opinión le agradece a los muchachos agradables----**_Theresa, say thank you to the nice boys_

**La opinión le agradece a muy, muchacho muy lindo, miel.----_say thank you to the very, very cute boy, honey._**

**"¡Mimi¡El mama dice que usted tiene que volverse para la cena ahora, o bien ella está alimentando su alimento el perro y ella que no van dejó ángel permanecer para la cena!----**_Mimi! Mama says come to dinner right now, or else she'll feed your food to the dog and Angel can't stay for dinner!_

**"¡Dígale que estamos viniendo!----**_tell her we're coming!_


End file.
